“How could I not tell? Your blood—”
“Have you ever tasted Astor blood?”
“No.”
“That’s why.” The memory shimmers away, and I’m back to my adult self when I blink again. The dark room surrounds us once more. “I was worried Elijah would discover when he first drank from Rainey. It was why I was so pissed that he’d mated her. I was concerned he’d out me. But it seems our time together was not enough of a blip in his memory to cause him to recall a familial tie.”
“Bronywyn, that’s—fuck, I don’t even know what it is.”
“It changes nothing, right?”
His gaze meets mine, and he squeezes my hand. “Of course not. I just—I wish you would have told me. You’re related to them, Bronywyn. An aunt or something.” He scratches the back of his neck with his free hand. “I’m not entirely sure what the title is, but it’s there. You need to tell them. They deserve to know. Especially since you’re the only family they have left.”
On one hand, I agree. I’ve come close to telling Delaney more than once over the past few months—two-month hiatus aside. But after keeping it a secret for so long, vocalizing the reason my mother was slaughtered in our home feels impossible.
I am the reason she was killed, and my true father never once showed his face to check in on me. Hell, I doubt he even knew about me, at all. Maybe if he had— I shake my head. There’s no point in focusing on maybes. My life turned out exactly as it was supposed to—dark magic not included. And if things had been different, I likely never would have met the man before me.
“If we get out of here, I will be honest about my bloodline,” I promise as the weight of the secret lessens. “I’m glad you know. It feels good to have someone know the truth.”
He smiles. “Any other bombshells you need to drop on me?”
“None that come to mind.”
“Good.”
The ground shakes again, the walls rippling like liquid. I reach for Tarnley, gripping his hand as Lucy appears in front of me. She grins, black eyes shimmering with power. “Hello, pets.”